RotorMotor

iTrader: (5)

got mine today! very impressive! bravo, and thanks for designing this and making it available to all of us. we all greatly appreciate the amount of work you put into this! -heath

aoc007

iTrader: (5)

Yeah I installed my a few hours ago, top notch product, it was even packaged well and came with good directions! Too bad I don't have harnesses yet to try on it but that should come next week, I wanted to get the correct length. Will post pics sometime soon.

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

Received mine in the mail yesterday, and am looking forward to installing it this weekend. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that instructions were included.


-s-

aoc007

iTrader: (5)

It looks real good, one tiny thing the milspec quick disconnects vibrate and make some noise over really rough bumps but this is no problem, I may insulate it with some rubber.



-Andy

jbguillo

iTrader: (3)

cool

RaceDriver7

iTrader: (9)

Why not start a list of people that are interested in the bar for the next batch, and if there are enough people already, you can have another batch made now? You can even have us pay in advance. I mean, you already have the CAD design and everything, all you have to do is send it off to the manufacturer. There's nothing to lose, just more money for you :-)

I think this bar is a good compromise for anyone who doesn't want to to install a roll cage and race seats, but would like to get rid of their airbags and use a harness at the track or even on the street.

RotorMotor

iTrader: (5)

i didnt get instructions (although the only thing i could possibly need would be torque specs lol). now on to finding a set of DOT harnesses (which im told i have only a single choice ) -heath

saxyman990

Heath, I should have included a set of instructions with everyone's order (folded underneath the invoice). I'll e-mail you a copy right now.

-Rob

saxyman990

Thanks for the comments. I really do appreciate your opinions, and believe me: I'm not just going to dust off my hands, and say "well, THATs done!" I actually have a lot of additional plans. Making another production run is one of those plans, and is pretty much a definite thing. But there are a couple other factors at play

I do have a list of interested people And right now, it's not quite long enough to warrant me making another run yet. I need to produce a minimum of 20 at a time in order to decrease machining cost enough so that I don't actually loose money.

Plus, even though I do have CAD drawings complete, its still not quite as easy as just sending a purchase order off to my machinist. There's still quite a bit that goes into it on my end. Just as an example: you wouldn't believe how long it took for me to inspect and package over 2 dozen of these things....

-Rob

saxyman990

Andy, looks great, thanks for the picture.

The push-button pins can make some noise (due primarily to the ring attached to the head, although sometimes the internal retaining shaft can cause some noise). I generally remove the pins, and store them with the harnesses when I'm not on the auto-x course.

-Rob

aoc007

iTrader: (5)

Yeah I was just thinking it'd look cool to have them in there anyway! I think once a harness is installed it may put enough tension (especially strapped in) to stop that noise.

rxcited2

Got mine installed too. It really is quite beautiful. Rob! I didn't weigh it, but the heft seems comparable to the OEM bar unit. I have one concern:

There is incomplete thread engagement for the nuts which install inside the new aluminum mounts. The reason is because the mounts are much thicker than the sheet metal of the OEM bar mounting plates, and the OEM flange-nuts themselves have a very thick flange portion that is not threaded.

I'll try to take a picture to show what I am talking about. It probably is not a safety issue, but I would feel better if all the threads in the nut were engaged. I think it would be easy to replace the nuts with "standard" flange nuts - these have a thinner flange than the thick-*** ones presently used back there. This would bring the threaded portion down closer to the mounting surface and result in full thread engagement.

saxyman990

Thanks for the comments!

I'm not sure how much the stock bar weighs, but here are the weights of the main components of my bar:

Central Bar: 3.84 lb
Mounting Bracket (each): 0.97 lb
5/8 bolt (each): 0.16 lb

Total weight for the main bar: 6.1 lb

(of course, the 4 mounting pins are going to add a few additional ounces of weight.)

This is true, the stock nuts are rather tall, and the bottom 0.15" (the flange portion) of the stock nut contains no threads. But, when properly torqued, there should still be 4 full threads of engagement. This is more than adequate to hold the necessary torque, and therefore poses no issue.

However, if there is anyone that is still concerned about this, I will gladly ship replacement nuts that have a shorter profile, at my own cost. Please just PM me, or e-mail me, and I'll take care of it.

-Rob

ColdFeet

iTrader: (4)

WooHoo! Received mine yesterday.

Rob, it's a thing of beauty - well done

I'm really interested in what others are thinking for harnesses - please post.


Ahem, and now, from the peanut gallery:

On both the top and bottom, right in the middle (natch) were large rub spots down to the shiny. I took a magic marker to it and it's passable. Appears the large bolt bag was doing the rubbing. I know packaging was a hassle, but consider bubble wrap the length and/or also the attachment bags. Shipment to here is a trip, so not sweating it.

Second, slightly bummed with the cover hinges. I didn't realize (pay attention) that I'd have to unscrew/rescrew each time I went to use a harness. Again, not a big deal - but I had it in my head that the hinges would have a flat tang that would use the harness attachment points. Maybe something to consider for the next run - or as a separate optional item.

It really is a work of art - thanks again for making these!!!

Scott

saxyman990

Scott,

Forgive me, as I'm a little confused with what your saying in the following statement:


You should NOT have to unscrew anything when you go to use the harness, including the cover hinges. The only thing that needs to be removed in order to pin in a harness is the central plastic divider.

Could you elaborate on your comment, so that we're on the same page?

Thanks!
-Rob

ColdFeet

iTrader: (4)

Nevermind - was looking at the hinge pins and somehow got it in my head that they were going to be in the way of the harness end plate. I've got to either type slower or think faster. The hinges are perfect.

Scott

saxyman990

^ No worries Scott. I think we all have those moments every now and again

-Rob

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

FYI, I'm going to try to pay a visit to Crow Enterprizes soon to see if they have an off-the-shelf solution that will work with our cars. I'm hoping I can find a 6-point setup that fits with this bar and the OEM seats.

-s-

aoc007

iTrader: (5)

I'm going with a pair of Sabelt 6121R's, hopefully I'll have time to get a local place to fit them on Tues. but I think I'll have to wait until Wed.

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

I weighed (digital postage scale) and installed my bar last night. Install was a breeze, once I found the big 3/8" hex key.

OEM assembly: 3 lb 15 oz (bar, mounts, and hardware that was removed when installing the new bar):
Axiom bar: 6 lb 6 oz (bar, mounts, optional hinge mounts and hardware)

So this bar only adds about 2.5 lbs to the car.

FDinSoCal

What are we looking at now for how many people are going to go with the new production run? i know there was a running list before. Just curious as to how many people you have thus far. Pics do look great from what people have done and I can't wait until you do the next run with these Rob. Thanks!

-Clayton

saxyman990

Thanks for the weight measurements that you posted scotty!

saxyman990

Thanks for the kind words! Current interested list is approximately 10-12 people. Of course, the number of people that will actually end up purchasing is always lower than the "interested" number. So, assume that there are currently about 8 people ready to purchase. Not quite enough yet to warrant another production run, but it's getting there.

-Rob

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

how much interest do you need before you're run a second production? People are probably going to want these for the coming race season, and it might serve to start a second "interest" thread.

FDinSoCal

Ok well Hopefully my name is on that list! Definitely ready to buy it whenever you got it. Thanks for the update though.

-Clayton